Apple Store The Forum Shops will also open at 10:00 AM in sunny Las Vegas, Nevada. You'll find it at The Forum Shops At Caesars, at 3500 Las Vegas Blvd., South. Full travel directions are here. This will be Nevada's fourth store, and the third in Sin City.
If you visit either store over the weekend, please let us know! We'd love to see your pictures and stories.
Is Apple's oldest NYC retail store causing agita for its well-heeled neighbors in SoHo? AFP and Dow Jones are reporting that the SoHo Alliance, an umbrella community organization, has complained to city officials and Apple execs about a litany of issues with the popular outlet. Crowds outside the store (sometimes overnight) have blocked streets and left trash behind, to the frustration of nearby residents.
The recent Jonas Brothers in-store concert may have been the final indignity for alliance director Sean Sweeney. "This concert attracted thousands of young teenage girls who screamed incessantly on the street for hours for their idols, blocking traffic, injuring one resident in the crush, and inconveniencing scores of other people and businesses."
I suppose there's a price to pay for being busy and popular. Considering that the immediate vicinity of the store is home to scores of restaurants, bars and high-end boutiques, it's surprising that Apple is the biggest quality-of-life offender in the area, but maybe it's time for some of the bigger draws to move to the 14th Street store instead.
If you were on our last Talkcast, you know how wildly interesting it is to see an Apple Store opening (our own Robert Palmer attended one just last week), so keep an eye on this one, Texans.
Of course, we should mention that as incredibly awesome as our readers are, they are not always trustworthy when it comes to Apple Store news. Our good friend Ged Maheux kindly tipped us a little while ago about an Apple Store opening near him in Greensboro ... which then turned out to be a Williams Sonoma instead (the Apple Store is still opening there, but not until next year). We love our readers -- more than is socially accepted in some parts of the world, really -- but as always, take their Apple Store tips with a requisite grain of salt.
MacNN is reporting that US big box store Best Buy will begin selling iPhones on September 7th. The move could help reduce the long lines that are still developing at Apple and AT&T stores. You may remember a rumor about this last month.
Best Buy has been slowly developing a retail relationship with Apple. A few years ago, certain locations were given Mac minis to sell. That program has matured to the "mini stores" in place today. AppleInsider suggests that a major overhaul of the mobile phone departments at all Best Buy locations was the step that finally convinced Apple to hand over the iPhone.
So, will Best Buy move many iPhones? I still encounter much anti-Apple sentiment from hardcore Windows lovers, and big electronics stores can be an epicenter for that type of thing. However, it seems to be reserved to Apple's computers.
My hope is that the staff is well trained, as I'm sure we all remember the unpleasant experience of shopping for Macs at Circuit City several years ago.
Practically biking distance from my girlfriend's house will be a brand-spankin'-new Apple Store for San Diego North, in Carlsbad. No longer will north county residents have to drive to UTC or Fashion Valley to get a Mac fix. Or fixed, as the case may be.
Apple is planning a grand opening there at 10 a.m. on Saturday, including free t-shirts for the first thousand customers.
Early yesterday morning, an Apple Store in Ohio was robbed. The Easton Town Center Apple Store's glass window (or door) was shattered and the robbers began snatching merchandise and placing it in their car's trunk. The robbers were reported to be driving a black Lexus. When police arrived on the scene, the robbers drove off, hitting the police car.
If you are in the Columbus, Ohio area and have information for police, you are urged to call the Columbus Police Department at 614-645-4545. There is no word yet on when the Apple Store will re-open for business.
On Monday, a group of Apple technical staffers filed suit against Apple alleging that the company denied them overtime pay and meal compensation. Both the pay and meal compensation are required by California state law. The suit also claims that many Apple employees are subjected to working conditions that are similar to indentured servitude.
The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, David Walsh, was an Apple network engineer from 1995 to 2007. He stated that he was often required to work more than 40 hours a week, miss meals, and spend evenings and weekends on call without any overtime pay or meal compensation. [Author's personal comment: this is not unusual in the tech industry]
Walsh alleges that Apple deliberately classified Walsh and others as management employees so that they would not receive overtime compensation as required by California law for hourly employees. The class action suit also seeks to include the staffers at Apple Stores as plaintiffs.
Should the plaintiffs win, Apple could be required to revise its compensation practices and pay retroactive compensation to many present and past employees. Apple has not responded to the complaint.
Apple certainly took their time in establishing a retail presence in Australia, but now they're set to open a second store, this time in Chatswood. Apple Store Chatswood Chase will open on Saturday, August 9th at 9:00 AM. The store is located at Chatswood Chase Shopping Centre, Victoria Avenue, Chatswood. You can get full travel directions here.
As usual, we're asking any TUAW operatives who visit this weekend to send us stories and photos. Good luck, have fun and we're hoping you score a T-shirt!
When faced with the dilemma of upgrading my iBook G4 in June, I started looking for a replacement that would have the same performance as my Intel iMac. I decided upon getting a MacBook Pro 15". With money in hand, I eagerly clicked the "buy now" button on Apple's website. Little did I know that I would be trading in my MacBook Pro more than 6 times over the next 2 months.
I received my first MacBook Pro, and it was beautiful. I loved everything about it. However, after 2 weeks of use, I started noticing the screen striping symptom that others before me have noted. This problem usually occurred after charging the computer from a half-filled battery and unplugging the MagSafe power cable. I didn't think anything of this problem, since it only happened once or twice. After another week of use, the striping problem started becoming an everyday part of charging the computer. I called Apple and even emailed them the picture that you see above (minus the additional note) -- they did nothing and said it was a "software glitch."
The first MacBook Pro did have another problem: When I went to check my email one day, every program would crash repeatedly. I immediately ran the Apple hardware test (AHT) to find out what was going on. As any unlucky person (me) would have it, the memory sticks were dead. I called AppleCare, told them all of the problems I was having and then told them about the AHT results. They set up a replacement order since I was having hardware problems within the first month of ownership.
Continue reading to learn more about my MacBook Pro woes.
North Carolinians can start to polish up their credit cards, as the long-awaited Greensboro Apple Store (to be located at The Shops at Friendly Center, a heck of a nice place to spend your money) is now underway. The Iconfactory's Ged Maheux was kind enough to send us this parking-lot snapshot of the site -- looks like a big one.
ifoAppleStore had a mid-summer target for the Greensboro store to open, which seems optimistic bordering on impossible at this point. A commenter on Ged's blog hinted that the delay in construction may have been the result of a proximity dispute; Apple is a bit picky about which stores can cohabit with the glass wonderlands, and now that the neighborhood is up to snuff the project is underway.
By the way, if you've ever wondered what the offices (and the denizens) of the Iconfactory really look like, you can catch a glimpse via this local news report on the company.
AppleInsider reported today that Apple is advising resellers to stock up on the better-selling iPods and MacBooks, as factory supplies are expected to slow to a trickle in August. There's speculation that this could be due to a release of new models.
For 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pros and the standard MacBooks, Apple was recommending that channel partners place orders that would give them a 3-week supply. For iPods, a 4-week supply was advised.
Apple usually notifies resellers via bulletins like this when they're getting ready to refresh a product line. This points to a product introduction for the new laptops and iPods (most likely the iPod touch and nano) in late August or September. While this is late for the school buying season, it could mark an early entry into the holiday buying season with an agressive launch of new products.
People are still lining up at Apple stores to pay iPhone 3G's. Clearly, people are crazy about Apple's new phone, but what is Apple doing to make it a little easier to get your hands on a shiny new iPhone? Our friends at iPhone Central note that Apple stores have new, extended hours to pack the people in. Apple stores are now opening at 8am, for you early rising iPhone seekers.
Apple retail staffers will also be roaming the lines and prequalifing people for iPhone purchases. Once you've been prequalified you are issued a ticket that is good for an iPhone 3G. You can use the ticket right then and there (when it is your turn, of course) or return later in the day.
Sounds like a pretty fair system to me. Have you stood in line for an iPhone lately? What do you think of Apple's new methods?
Can't find an iPhone 3G? Well, TopMuffin has created a site that checks Apple's store inventory every 15 minutes. According to the site, Apple updates the inventory throughout the day. TopMuffin's site parses the feed (feed link) and shows iPhone 3G availability by Apple Store.
TopMuffin doesn't just post availability info, they also do some statistics to find the percent available. When we checked the page, Apple had 45% availability for 8GB black iPhones, 53% availability for 16GB black iPhones, and 41% availability for 16GB white iPhones.
This site does not list availability for AT&T stores, and only lists stores located in the U.S. A disclaimer is posted on the page lets viewers know that the best way to check iPhone availability is to call your local store. You can view the site by clicking the read link.
The rumoredApple Store, Sainte Catherine in Montréal is opening today, in grand style. If you're in the area of 1321 Ste-Catherine st west besides the Ogilvy Department Store at the corner De la Montagne st (which I totally just grabbed from the store's website, I have no idea where any of that is) you should stop on by.
It looks like the store will also have a number of musical guests for the next few days to keep interest up. Amongst the musical folks stopping by the store are:
The last time that we looked into the Charleston, South Carolina Apple Store, they were only in the construction/hiring process. Well, the time has finally come: some South Carolinians will rejoice, while others (like me) will want more. Apple has announced that the first South Carolina store will open this Saturday, July 26, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. The King Street Apple Store is located at 301 King Street in the downtown district.
What do you think about the first Apple retail store coming to South Carolina? Do you support their (belated) efforts? Will you be attending the grand opening? Do you have pictures of the store?
Apple plans to open two new retail stores in the US this Saturday, August 30th. One in Ridgeland, Mississippi and another in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Is Apple's 
Practically biking distance from my girlfriend's house will be a 
Early yesterday morning, an Apple Store in Ohio was robbed. The 
On Monday, a group of Apple technical staffers filed suit against Apple alleging that the company denied them overtime pay and meal compensation. Both the pay and meal compensation are required by California state law. The suit also claims that many Apple employees are subjected to working conditions that are similar to 
Apple certainly took their time in establishing a retail presence in Australia, but now they're set to open a second store, this time in Chatswood.
AppleInsider
People are still lining up at Apple stores to pay iPhone 3G's. Clearly, people are crazy about Apple's new phone, but what is Apple doing to make it a little easier to get your hands on a shiny new iPhone? Our friends at iPhone Central 
Can't find an iPhone 3G? Well, 
The 
The last time that we looked into the 
